


(Don't) Step In the Way

by syriala



Series: Deter Week 2019 [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, peter hale cares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 08:04:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18442436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syriala/pseuds/syriala
Summary: There were exactly two people in Peter's life he would risk limb and life for and Derek certainly didn't make that cut.Right?





	(Don't) Step In the Way

**Author's Note:**

> There was this ask on Tumblr, about who Peter would risk his life for and the obvious answer was Stiles and Malia, but my shipper heart wanted more. There's no major character death in here. Technically this wasn't written for Deter Week but since it's still Dealer's Choice day, I choose to put it in there anyway.

Peter didn’t know why he still attended these pack meetings, but he found himself yet again at one. The only positive thing about this was the fact that Stiles was there as well. At least with him it wouldn’t get boring.

As this new inquiry of his proved.

“So, Peter, is there someone you would die for?” Stiles asked out of the blue, or maybe they had been a logical step to this, but since Peter hadn’t listened before, he had missed it.

“Oh please,” Erica scoffed. “We all know that Peter only cares about himself.”

“Actually,” Peter drawled, throwing her a smarmy smile, because he did love to be contrary, but also because it was true, “I do care about other people.”

“Then who is it?” Erica asked, looking around the room as if she could somehow see it like that.

“I bet it’s Stiles,” Malia piped up, sounding disinterested. “We all know he has a platonic boner for him.”

“It’s called a friendship, dear daughter of mine. You should try it every now and then. You could benefit from that.”

“So you admit it. If you had to protect Stiles at the cost of your own life, you would do it?” Allison wanted to know, sounding surprised but Peter just nodded.

“Yes, I would,” he replied, and every ‘were in the room would know it for the truth it was.

Stiles was dear to him in a way Peter couldn’t describe and if he had to protect him with his own life, he would do it. The wolf would allow no argument there. They wouldn’t let harm come to the boy.

“Wow, you have one person you would die for, bravo,” Scott berated him. “If you think that makes you more, likable you’re wrong.”

“To tell the truth, there are two people on that list,” Peter said, thoroughly enjoying the sour look that passed over Scott’s face.

He savored the anticipation for a moment, before he answered the unasked question that hung in the room.

“Malia is on that list as well. She is my daughter after all.”

Malia tilted her head, curiosity clear on her face. “Because we’re family? Does that mean you’d do the same for Derek? He’s your nephew, after all.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Peter said, and he couldn’t hold back the snort at that thought. “There is no love lost between us. I wouldn’t even risk my clothes for him.”

Silence fell over the room and Peter’s eyes darted over to Derek. He was clenching his jaw, hands curling and uncurling into fists, and he wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes.

“Derek,” Stiles started carefully as if he had something to apologize for in Peter’s stead, but Derek jolted into motion at hearing his name and left the the pack without a look back.

Every gaze turned to Peter after Derek left, accusation clear in their stares, but Peter just shrugged. It wasn’t a lie. He wouldn’t risk life and limb for Derek.

But that didn’t explain the uncomfortable feeling Derek’s departure left behind. And Peter couldn’t say he liked it.

~*~*~

Peter didn’t know what happened. One moment he was all the way across the clearing, staying far away from the strongest fighter of the harpy flock, and the next he had one of her claws in her stomach and the other one in his chest.

It gave Derek enough time to deal out the killing blow, and Peter groaned when the claws were forced out of his body again. It was almost as unpleasant as them going in had been.

“Peter!” Derek called out, catching Peter before he could slump forward and fall to the ground.

Peter rested his forehead against Derek’s shoulder, unsteady on his feet and nauseated by the feeling of his blood flowing freely out of the wounds.

“What did you do?” Derek asked, voice tinged with panic and Peter chuckled.

“Don’t know,” Peter panted out, lowering one hand to cover the wound in his stomach.

He pressed down, groaning with the pain but also relieved to find that no entrails were coming out. It was a silver lightning in this otherwise pretty dark situation.

“Why did you step into the way?” Derek wanted to know, gently lowering Peter to the ground.

“Felt a lot like insanity,” Peter snapped back and flinched when he aggravated his wounds with that.

“You said you wouldn’t die for me,” Derek lowly said, looking at the wound in Peter’s chest, rather than at Peter’s face.

“And I won’t, so don’t get your hopes up,” Peter snarled out, but Derek shook his head.

“You said you wouldn’t even risk your clothes for me, let alone this. And yet here you are.”

“And yet here I am,” Peter said with a sigh. “Looks like I care more about you than I thought.”

It wasn’t meant unkindly and going by the blinding smile that broke out on Derek’s face he knew it.

“I care about you, too,” he said, pulling Peter into a hug.

“Careful, pup,” Peter groaned out. “Still hurt over here.”

“I missed you, uncle Peter,” Derek whispered instead of letting him go and Peter relaxed fully against him.

He couldn’t deny that he had missed Derek as well, had missed their easy familiarity, and the trust shared between them, and Derek’s clear relief at not having lost that connection and his easy admittance warmed Peter, where the blood loss had made him cold.

“I missed you too, darling,” Peter replied, pressing a kiss to Derek’s temple, like he had done countless times before, and Derek’s content little sigh was more potent than any painkiller.

Maybe Peter would have to rewrite the mental list of people he would die for. Because clearly Derek was more important to him than he had realized.


End file.
